There comes a time in every wedding business owner’s journey when you realize that you can no longer do it all yourself. The first time you hire an employee is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. You’re excited because hiring staff means that your wedding business is growing and you are ready to take it to the next level. Hiring staff also means that there is plenty of work coming in, which makes this a great problem to have!

Decide what your wedding business needs

Before you can hire your first employee, you need to decide what your business needs. This will help you identify the best type of person and position for the job. It’s also important to make sure that they’re a good fit with your company culture.

Do you need someone with specific skills? Do they have experience in a certain field? If so, do they have professional credentials or other proof that they’re qualified?

Do they have experience working at another wedding business? If so, how did their previous employer manage them (and vice versa)? Was everything smooth sailing or did there ever arise any disagreements between them? These details may give insight into how well this person will fit within your own office culture.

Does this person already have connections within the industry or even just local vendors who could be excellent additions to the team (e.g., photographers)? Remember that everyone brings something unique when it comes time to work together on projects!

Understand the legal requirements of hiring an employee in your State or Province

If you’re a new business owner, the first thing to do is follow the laws of your state or province. The legal requirements for hiring an employee in your State or Province vary depending on where you live. One thing to consider is, you will need to pay payroll taxes (such as income tax and FICA tax) on behalf of your employees. You may also need to provide benefits such as health insurance and retirement savings plans for them as well, which can add up quickly!

It’s important to also consider other costs associated with hiring an employee such as workers’ compensation insurance and unemployment insurance. Make sure that you understand these requirements before making the decision to hire someone full time in order avoid any surprises down the road!

Independent Contractor vs. Employee

The type of individual you are bringing on will likely fall under two categories. They may need to be a full employee or you may be able to bring them on as an independent contractor.

On the other hand, if someone works under your direction in a salaried or hourly capacity then they are considered an employee of your business. This means that all taxes for this person will be deducted from their paycheck before it gets paid out to them by direct deposit or check; additionally, this person will receive benefits such as health insurance if applicable in order to fulfill legal requirements set forth by law – even though these costs may not be covered by clients directly through payments made upfront before services rendered during weddings/events/etc.

Determine compensation

Once you have determined the position and responsibilities of your first employee, it’s time to start thinking about compensation. There are several factors that go into determining an employee’s salary:

• What is their current salary?
• How much do they need to make in order to stay competitive with other companies offering similar positions?
• Are there any benefits (health insurance, retirement plan) that will be provided by the company? This is especially important for salaried positions because employees will only see a portion of their earnings through direct pay. In addition, you may choose to offer additional perks like paid sick days and vacation time.

If you’re hiring an independent contractor rather than an employee, then this step doesn’t apply; however if you want someone who works for your business full-time without being on payroll then you’ll need some sort of financial arrangement with them—whether it’s hourly or salary based upon how often they work and the amount of hours spent working each week/month etcetera..

Create a job description

A job description is a detailed list of all the responsibilities and duties that go along with a job. It’s important to create one for every position in your business, as this gives you a clear picture of what you’re looking for in an employee and helps them understand what they’ll be doing on their first day at work.

For example, if your hiring someone who will be handling wedding planning tasks (like sending out save-the-dates or working with vendors), it would be good to include details about those responsibilities in their job description. You might also want to include things like how much time they should expect to spend on each task during an average week and how often they should communicate with other team members (e.g., weekly meetings).

Create a job posting

Now you know exactly who you need, the next step in hiring your first employee is to create a job posting. You should do this before you advertise or post on social media, as this will help you determine what needs to be included in your advertisement. It will also give you an idea of how much time and effort will go into finding the right person for the job so that you can plan accordingly.

A good way to make sure that your posting is specific enough is by brainstorming all the possible responsibilities, qualifications, and requirements they might have in their day-to-day work life—and then writing them down! Once you have those written down (and preferably organized), it’s time to start thinking about how these things relate with each other and how they’re going to fit into your business as well as how they could affect each other within their respective departments/positions/roles.

Interview potential candidates

Once you’ve decided to hire someone, it’s time to conduct an interview. During the interview, you will want to pose questions that are relevant for the position and see how well they answer them.

What questions should you ask during an interview? Here are a few ideas:

• What type of work experience do they have? How did they gain this experience?
• Why do they want to work at your company? Do they have any goals or aspirations for their career path?
• How efficient is their workflow when working on projects independently with minimal supervision from others in general (and from yourself specifically)?

When doing interviews, make sure not just that your potential hires can answer all these questions but also that their responses show genuine interest in working with your business! And finally make sure your new employee fits well into your company culture before hiring.

Take the time to find the right fit for your company

Finding the right person to hire is a process and it will take time. Don’t rush and don’t settle for someone who isn’t a good fit for your business, no matter how desperate you are for help. Your first employee should be someone who fits in seamlessly with your company culture and can really add value to what you do.

You want someone who is a good fit for both your company and team—your business model, clientele, industry, etc.—and their personality should be compatible with yours as well. If they’re not aligned with you on any of these things, then it’ll be hard for them to succeed.

Provide clear expectations

While it may seem like an obvious point, having clear expectations is essential for both parties involved. The employee needs to know what you expect of them and how they will be evaluated. As the employer, you need to have a clear idea of what’s expected as well.

In addition to making sure that everyone knows what’s expected from them and why, it’s important that you have clear expectations for yourself and your business as well. If you don’t know what these are yet, start by asking yourself these questions:

• What do I want this person doing day-to-day?
• How much responsibility am I willing to give over?
• What kind of customer service should they provide?

Take the time to provide coaching & training

The first thing to do when you hire an employee is to take the time to provide coaching and training. This will help them understand your vision for their role, and how they can contribute in a way that supports your goals.

It may be tempting to just throw them into the deep end of the pool, but if you want people who are invested in your business’s success, taking some extra time up front will pay off down the road. Asking questions like:

• How does this employee fit into my company’s overall mission?
• What are their strengths? Weaknesses? Where do they excel at work? Where do they need more guidance or training?

Need help with how to hire your first employee?

We hope that you’ve learned a lot from this blog about the steps to take when hiring your first employee. It’s an exciting time for you—and your business!—but also one that can feel overwhelming. We want to leave you with one final message: remember why you started down this path in the first place. You were driven by something; it could have been creativity or entrepreneurship, but there was something that had you jumping into this industry. Whether it was a passion for attention to detail and organization, a love of flowers and event design, or any other reason—hold onto that! Remembering what drove you originally will help keep you motivated through all the ups and downs of growing your wedding business.

If you’re looking for guidance & support for making your first hire, contact Schift & Co for our wedding business coaching programs. Charlotte Steinschifter is a qualified HR Professional & Wedding Industry Business Coach who can help you with making your first hire.